A brief return of winter

Yesterday, the storm clouds rolled in, and I did a snow dance while the Duo frolicked in the cool air.

We are 6' behind our average snow fall for the winter. Our fire danger is already intense. But, just like all the other storms so far this winter, last night's storm just rushed over top of us, leaving a dusting of snow. K galloped through it this morning.

Moreover, the main lasting effect was wind. In this photo on Hug Hill, I caught K during a lull in the bone-rattling gusts.

But, in most of my photos, her ears flapped in the wind like waving flags.

We headed for the protection of some trees where I enjoyed seeing the thin coat of snow barely covering the wintergreen plants. At our turnaround point, K implored me to go further. Sorry girl, not yet!

After I dropped K at home, I headed out on my own. The snow melted under an intense sun very rapidly. I spotted a yellow flower. I thought that it was gorgeous, especially with the micro-forest of green plants sprouting all around it. If you look closely at the world, there's beauty everywhere!

Yes, I do know that it was a dandelion. But, I try not to let society's designation that these yellow gems are "weeds" change my view of them.

At the end of my ride, I discovered the elk herd near our house. Most of the long-legged ungulates dozed in the shade of a clump of trees. But, a young and very thin buck stood watching me.

I love that the elk herd hangs around near our house so much in the springtime. Today, bluebirds fluttered around them, and, very soon, Broad-tailed Hummingbirds will buzz overhead. In the meantime, please do a snow dance for us. As much as I yearn for summer-like weather, our world needs a humongous dump of snow so that the plants and animals can flourish, and we humans can stop worrying so much about wildfires.